I have had Rotala rotundifolia in a bucket for four or five years and its survived some hard frosts. Its sheltered and covered with glass but it flowers each year so worth a try if you have some trimmings.threw some Rotala rotundifolia into my patio pond back in May and it’s grown like a weed. Obviously not Hardy but certainly useful seasonally.
I currently have dwarf water lettuce , guppy grassI have had Rotala rotundifolia in a bucket for four or five years and its survived some hard frosts. Its sheltered and covered with glass but it flowers each year so worth a try if you have some trimmings.
Cheers
Out of interest what do you grow in that tub ? And are there any fish in there ?Looking good...
Those square plastic tubs will start to bulge out more and more over time especially when it gets warm this plastic gets really soft. Once it bulges to the max it will not reset on its own and stay that way. Yours is already starting and likely will bend even more. To keep it in shape you could use a piece of Victor Chain.
If you cut one eye close to P you can bend it out a bit then you have a hook. Do this at both ends and hook it to the rim of the tub. Then the tub will not collapse.
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Also advisable to take a piece of thick bark or driftwood and ty it to the chain so it doesn't sink. This will function as a rescue ladder for curious and thirsty mice that fall in the tub. Because once they do they will not be able to climb out against the smooth wall of the tub and die a horrible death. Swimming till exhausted getting a heart attack and or then drown Found quite some dead mice in my tub over the years took me a few to come up with the idea to make them a ladder to get out again.
Or if you have too much mice you can make the cheapest and most effective mouse trap.
No fish... It is actually my natural life food tub breeding whatever gets in there on its own devices. Sometimes I seed it with some daphnia if I find some locally to speed things up. But usually, they come on their own.Out of interest what do you grow in that tub ? And are there any fish in there ?
I've considered growing/cultivating daphnia in a tub just wouldn't have a clue how to start it off any suggestions ?No fish... It is actually my natural life food tub breeding whatever gets in there on its own devices. Sometimes I seed it with some daphnia if I find some locally to speed things up. But usually, they come on their own.
My fish I keep in here on the terrace.
Mission Bathtub 2021 - Better late than never.
Went to the pond shop and they seemed to have survived the pandemic lockdown ordeal... But as suspected they had very few plants for sale this year and 0 Lilies. Understandably they said, last year was a kick in the gut, first, let us sell something before we dive deeper into more dept. So I...ukaps.org
I've considered growing/cultivating daphnia in a tub just wouldn't have a clue how to start it off any suggestions ?
Thanks for the advice was thinking of getting into the business of live foods next I can also use some to feed by fish fry be another good little projectIf it's outdoor and has no fish then Daphnia comes via airmail with other flying insects such as the pond skaters/water striders and backswimmers etc.
Water fleas 'mail' their eggs from pond to pond
While not able to survive outside water, Daphnia have found a way to send their eggs along with large predatory insectswww.newscientist.com
Thus in most cases, it's a bit of patience, then put some dried leaf litter in the tub. This sinks to the bottom and starts decaying providing daphnia with sufficient food also with clear water. But then all will rather reside close to the bottom preferably under the leaves. Then you need to stir them up to see and catch them.
As usual, in most cases Daphnia has a boom and bust cycle, occasionally you may see the tub littering with them all over the place, then they eat all the food in record time, then the population declines again for a while. In this period the food gets time to accumulate again to go on to the next boom cycle. And this goes back and forth on its own. As long as the water in the tub doesn't freeze solid during the winter Daphnia will survive once you have them you likely will have them forever. They rather like it cool than too warm.
But if you have an LFS close that sells small portions of life daphnia then that's always a good start for the spring. Just make sure you have a tub with matured leaflitter ready and it will boom about immediately.
I'm considering doing that this year in planters like really big ones fill it with plants and rice fish 👍Medaka/Japanese rice fish would do well!